Grave vault



May 3, 1932. F, B|5ZANTZ 1,856,309

4 GRAVE VAULT Filed March 12, 1931 'fi/X @Wg/@M @www Patented May 3,1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE llItED BISZANTZ, OF GALION, OHIO,ASSIGNOQR, T MARION VAULT MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF MARION, OHIO, .ACORPORATION 0F OHIO GRAVE VAULT Application filed March 12, 1931. SerialNo. 522,967.

,lhis invention relates to grave vaults and particularly to means forsealing the joint between. the cover or dome of the vault and the basethereof.

16 'la vaults known to me, the cover or dome of the vault rests upon abase whose edges turn outward giving the effect of a pan, upon which thecover of the `"ault is seated, thus taking away from the apparentsolidity of the vault and from its ornamental character.

lDue of the objects of the present invention to do away with oreliminate this pan7 eli'ect and provide a vault so constructed as tosecure added strength, durability and ijiositive protection whileproviding a base serving as a lirm foundation upon which the casket andbody may rest and also provide moans whereby the dome of the vault maybe locked to the base.

i1 further object is to provide a base, which, while hollow, has all theelfect of a solid slab of stone and which has a lirm seat on the bottomof the grave 'within which 25 the vault is 'to be placed.

r1 futher object of the invention is to provide means for effectivelysealing the joint between the cover or dome of the vault and the basewhich extends upward within the lower portion of the cover or dome, andan other object in this connection is to provide means for liolding agasket firmly in place within the cover so that when the cover is placedupon the base, the gasket will engage the margin of the base and thusprevent any shifting of the gasket which would be the case were thegasket merely disposed upon the base itself.

Other objects will appeal' in the course of Athe following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accoinpanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a vertical transverse sectional view through a vaultconstructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2---2 of Figure 1 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary ver tical section of the cover andbase of the vault showing the gasket and its holding means.

Referring to these drawings, 10 designates the dome or what l havetermed the cover sec tion of the vault and 11 a base for the dome. Thisbase is hollow to provide atop wall 12, side wall 13 and an inwardlyextending liange llf delining an opening 15. The wall cover 10 adjacentits lower ortion is outwardly angled as at 1G, then ownwardly extendedas at 17, then outwardly flared as at 18 and then inwardly extended asat 19, this inward extension deiining an opening 20 which issufficiently large to receive easily the base 11. Disposed immediatelybeneath the angular portion 16 is a gasket 21 which lits within thecorner formed at the junction of the portions 17 and. 16. This gasket isheld in place by metallic strips 22 and by angles 23. The strips andangles 22 and 23 are disposed on all four sides of the vault and thusare practically continuous except the corners. In putting the gasket inplace, the edge of the gasket is tucked under the angular portion 16betwen the upper edge of the strip 22 and this angular portion and isthen pressed into position within the angle strip 23.

The angle strip 23 and the flat both spotwelded to the inside vaultcover.

it will be seen that when the cover is put in place, the portion 16 willbear against the upper face of the gasket, while the gasket vill bearagainst the upper face of the margin of the base 11, thus entirelysealing the interior of the vault. The skirt or basal portion 18 of thecover entends downward and outward and then extends inward so as toprovide an inwardly extending flange 19 with which the usual lockingbolts 241 mounted within the base may engage. These locking bolt may beof any suitable construction but. are profe `ably spring-projectedbolts. It will be seen that the inwardly turned flange 19 is disposedslightly above the bottom 14 of the base, thus permitting the gasket 2lto be tightly pressed against the top of the base 11 before the flange19 comes in Contact with any object which might prevent a full settingof the dome or cover upon the gasket 21. It

strip 22 are face of the will thus be seen that a thoroughly tight sealwill be provided against the inlet of moisture. Moisture may gatherwithin the skirt portion 18, but it cannot rise to the surface of thebase 1l nor pass the compressed gasket 2l. This construction keeps thevault moisture and vermin-proof without great care or expense.

In all other vaults known to me having a dome or cover and base, thebase has an outwardly extending lower flange so that the base has theappearance of a pan which is not desirable. It will be noted that in myconstruction, the base when the cover is removed has an exteriorsymmetrical form of a rectangular slab without any pan effect. The basel1 may be finished to represent granite or marble.

It will be seen that my vault not only provides for an air seal, butalso for a gasket seal, thus securing a double protection against theinlet of air or moisture.

I obviously do not wish to be limited to the exact details of theconstruction illustrated as these might be changed in many ways with outdeparting from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

1. In a grave vault, a base having upstanding side walls and an upperhorizontal wall, a cover for the base, the upper portion of the coverbeing smaller in cross sectional area than the area of the base, thecover adjacent its lower end being outwardly extended, then downwardlyextended to fit over the top of the base, and a` gasket mounted belowthe outwardly extended portion of the cover and against the downwardlyextended portion, and strips attached to the cover and embracing thegasket and holding it in place.

2. In agrave vault, a base having upstanding side walls and an upperhorizontal wall, a cover for the base, the upper portion of the coverbeing smaller in cross sectional area than the area of the base, thecover adjacent its lower end being outwardly extended, then downwardlyextended to lit over the top of the base, and a gasket mounted below theoutwardly extended portion of the cover and against the downwardlyextended portion, an angle strip attached to the lower face of theoutwardly extended portion of the cover and engaging the upper corner ofthe gasket, and a flat strip attached to the downwardly extended portionof the cover and extending upward and inward at an angle and engagingagainst the under face of the gasket.

3. A grave vault comprising a hollow base having a flat upper face andvertically extending side walls, a cover, the upper portion of which isless in cross sectional area than 'the area of the base, said coveradjacent its lower end being outwardly extended, then Vdownwardlyextended to approximately fit the upper portion of the base,

then beingV downwardly and outwardly extended and then inwardlyextended, a gasket disposed beneath the outwardly extended portion ofthe cover and bearing against the downwardly extended portion thereof,said gasket being adapted to rest upon the outer margin of the upperface of the base, and means attached to the inside of the cover forholding said gasket in place.

` 4. In a grave vault, a base having a flat, up-

per surface, and a vaulted cover for the base having approximatelyvertical side and end walls, the cross sectional area of the spacedefined by said walls being less than the area of the fiat upper surfaceof the base whereby the base projects out in all directions beyond theupper portion of the vaulted cover, the cover at the lower ends of itswalls being outwardly extended beyond the base and then downwardlyextended to fit over the base, gasket disposed between the upper surfaceof the base and the outwardly extending portion of the cover, the gasketbeing disposed entirely around the perimeter of the base.

5. In a grave vault, a base having a flat, upper surface and verticalside walls, a vaulted cover for the base, the upper portion of the coverhaving approximately vertical side and end walls, the cross sectionalarea of the space defined by said vertical walls being less than thearea of the flat upper surface of the base, the cover at the lower endsof the vertical portions of its walls being outwardly extended and thendownwardly extended to fit over the base, and a gasket disposed betweenthe outwardly extending portion of the cover and the margin of the upperface of the base and entirely around the base, the lower margin of thecover below downwardly extended portion being inward-l ly flanged towardthe vertical wall of the base, and locking devices mounted within thebase and having bolts projecting out through the side walls thereof andover said inwardly extending flanges of the cover.

6. In a grave vault, a base having a flat, upper surface and verticalside walls, a vaulted cover for the base having its upper portion formedwith approximately vertical side and end walls, the area defined bythese walls be# ing less than .the area of the flat upper face of thebase, the cover at the lower ends of its walls being outwardly extendedand then downwardly and outwardly extended to fitr` over the base, agasket disposed between the upper surface of the base entirely aroundthe margin thereof and the outwardly extending portion of the cover, andmeans on the cover holding the gasket in place within the cover,

7( In a grave vault, a base having a flat upper surface, vertical sidewalls and an in` turned flange, a Vvaulted cover for the base, the upperportion of th-e cover having approximately vertical side and end walls,the area defined byl said walls being less than the and aN thisoutwardly and area ofthe upper surface of the base whereby said side andend walls are disposed inward oi' the `vertical Walls of the base, thecover at the lower ends of its vertical portions being outwardly' anddownwardly extended to fit over the base, and having an inturned Harige,a gasket disposed between the upper surface oi the margin of the baseand the outwardly extending portion of the cover, and a projectedlooking bolt mounted within the base and projecting out through openingsin the vertical walls thereof and engageable with the inwardly extendingflange of the Cover.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FRED BISZANTZ.

